MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A new COVID-19 testing site is coming to a part of Memphis that sorely needs it.
Cherokee Health Center in Frayser is being added as a testing location.
“I’m so glad that they finally reached out to our community,” community leader Pastor Deandre Brown said. “We have a population of about 50,000 individuals.”
Most of them are Black—a demographic that’s seen a disproportionate number of infections in Shelby County.
According to the Health Department, 70% of coronavirus cases are African-American, based on a sample size of roughly 500 cases.
Brown said those numbers are particularly concerning because many of the residents in his community and other Black communities have underlying health issues like high blood pressure or diabetes.
“And take into consideration that so many people in our neighborhood don’t have health insurance,” he said. “That makes the situation a lot more dire.”
The Cherokee Health testing site is set to open April 17, and it will be a major help for residents who have limited access to transportation.
“Because you’ve got a lot of people that cannot drive to certain parts of the city, who may just have to walk down the street and get that test done,” Pastor Charlie Caswell of Impact Ministries said.
The Frayser announcement came two days after another big move—$3.6 million in federal grant money was given to three current testing sites in Memphis, and all of them are located in predominantly Black areas.
Those sites are Christ Community Health in South Memphis, Memphis Health Center in South Memphis and Tri-State Community Health Center in Whitehaven.
